Gin prices set to rise as inflation rears its ugly head

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Time to reach for the bottle: wine and gin lovers are set to be hit in the pocket by increased alcohol duties.

Current government policy dictates that alcohol duty increases are pegged to inflation, which means that if inflation increases by 3pc this year, as many experts have forecast, spirits will go up an extra 34p a litre.

Wine duty in the UK is currently the equivalent to £2.08 on a bottle of still wine, £2.67 on a bottle of sparkling wine.

Consumers will already have to pay an extra 29p per bottle of EU wine thanks to the fall of the pound.

Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, complained that drinkers are already paying a "staggering amount" in duty.